Search - Wicked (Wicked Years, Bk 1)

I read this for book club. Not what I expected. Some parts were really interesting, and others sort of dragged. I guess I was expecting some more elaboration on the Dorothy vs. Witch relationship stemming from the "Wizard of Oz". However, very little of that is mentioned. This book deals more with the Witch's life prior to that time. And from what I hear from others, readers either really like or really dislike Gregory Maguire's writing.

If I try to explain what Wicked is about, I sound like I'm describing a children's book. But Gregory Maguire's novel is hardly that, so here goes: Wicked is a retelling of the The Wizard of Oz from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West. This novel, however, is so much more than that. Wicked asks questions about the source of evil. It asks questions about making choices. It asks questions about why people turn out the way they do, and are they really what they appear to be?

Maguire uses dark humor throughout much of his story, which contrasts the serious questions asked. Many who read this book will identify with the Witch at several points throughout reading Wicked, and that's scary in itself.

Don't expect a children's book, or anything resembling the Oz from the movie or the original book by L. Frank Baum. At some points, this tale is quite tawdry. Have no expectations if you take on exploring it, but realize it is not light reading; realize this is not your grandmother's Oz.

Great! Absolutely loved getting a different perspective on the Wicked Witch of the West..quite a gal!

I could not finish this. I got to the explicit and perverse pantomine within the first few pages and wondered why is this is here? The author was making fun of low humor, debased entertainment, and superstitious mindless people. However, in order to do so, he had to conjure up, yeah, low humor, debased entertainment, and threaten to make the reader into a superstitious mindless person. I decided to walk away.

I'd seen the musical and was intrigued to find out more about the life and times of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West. This book gave me what I expected and hoped for, and yet it didn't. The story is fleshed out more than the musical's plotline, and you do get more insight into the personality and life of Elphaba, the wicked green anti-heroine. However, the details start getting skimpier and Elphaba's motivations get murkier as the story moves along. How she actually becomes "wicked" and glories at her newly won reputation as the Wicked Witch of the West is treated shabbily. The plot details and looks at Elphaba's life get traded in for discussions of morality and the origin of evil and the theology of souls, and it's a poor tradeoff where readability is concerned. The story never recovers from this derailment and the last section of the book, which should have been exciting and enthralling as this is the section where Witch meets Dorothy, is a big letdown. Throughout the book, the main character is referred to by name, as Elphaba, although different nicknames are ascribed to her at various times, yet in the last section she is continually referred to only as The Witch and no longer called Elphaba, a distracting device designed to distance the reader emotionally from her death.

Characters are never fleshed out enough to garner sympathy or likeability and the sections of the story reflecting the well-known Wizard of Oz story are far too brief to enjoy properly. Author Maguire goes through all this trouble setting up a rich and detailed storyland and then pulls away the vicarious enjoyment we could've had comparing this refreshingly new take on old familiar scenes and people by removing almost all such references out of the plot.

An interesting but flawed read, not all I had hoped it would be.

It was a pretty good read.